Sunday, September 28, 2014

As much as I would love to continue the in-joke of just always referring to Dan as "Lindsay's Boyfriend," I'm going to refrain since unaware readers might get the impression that I'm not that familiar with Dan. Suffice to say, even though I've known both Lindsay and Dan for about the same amount of time, and even though Dan is one of my relatively small number of co-workers, Jeff and I enjoy referring to him as "Lindsay's Boyfriend" because we find it funny. In fact, Jeff managed to work that joke into his announcements today at their wedding.

I spent most of my day at that wedding today, and it was definitely the funnest wedding I've ever attended. The question is, was it an inherently fun wedding? Or are all weddings really fun if you actually know the people involved and most of the people there? I'm inclined to think it's a little of both.

Last time I started explaining about Gamestop's Circle of Life, the engine that drove the company. To recap, the circle goes like so: Reservations > Trade-Ins > Used Games > Subscriptions > Reservations. I then proceeded to talk about the intricacies of the reservations system: particularly its inflated importance, the politics of it, and the social pressures that led to many employees spending more money at their job than they should.

This time I'm going to talk about the company's trade-in and used games system, which has its own share of intricacies you likely never considered.

Thursday, September 25, 2014

It may surprise the 16-year-olds eagerly applying for the job, but Gamestop has a pretty decent turnover rate. That is, employees come and go pretty rapidly. What's scaring so many people away from this coveted "dream job"?

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Last time I starting talking about Internet controversies and whether or not it's worth getting involved with them. I went over some of the repercussions of getting involved in these things (some people really, REALLY hate Anthony Burch, apparently), the specific risks of taking these positions as a company, and started talking about the efficacy of Internet activism.

Recently I and several other Fangamers received tweets about our connection to Comcept (the Mighty No. 9 folks), specifically because apparently they were hoping to boycott Comcept for a day? Or something? I'm not sure. Very likely it was just a small faction of the larger Gamergate movement that doesn't really understand how to boycott properly. We haven't heard anything about it since, so I assume they finished their tiny, ineffective boycott and moved on without involving us.

Still, between that and the Gaming Feminist Illuminati shirt that we'll be offering in our store soon, I've been thinking a lot about activism, especially as it relates to Internet activity. Should I be vocal about where I stand on a subject? What are the repercussions if I do? Will it have any effect? Are there consequences for staying silent? I'm not sure, but I have a few observations so far.

Monday, September 22, 2014

I'd seen this movie available on Netflix for a while, but never really looked at it until I saw Rob Paulsen post about it on Facebook. Until then, I had no idea it was a documentary about voice actors.

Short review: it's a fun documentary about an interesting community of people. If you have an interest in voice acting or are curious about the profession then I recommend it. If you don't have an interest in voice acting, well, this documentary might generate one.

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Recently an issue of Game Informer arrived at my house, informing me that my subscription to the magazine was about to expire. To be honest, I'm a little surprised I've kept it going for so long. I work in the industry, so I kind of catch most gaming news I'm interested in long before Game Informer would publish it. Even if I didn't, though, game companies have done a great job of connecting directly to the fans through online presentations and streamed content from conferences and such. In short, why read the magazine at all?

Habit, I suppose. I'm a former Gamestop employee, and having a subscription to the magazine is a must. Or, specifically, having a Gamestop discount card is a must, and the magazine comes free with it. I'm not planning to renew my subscription, however, and as I prepare to let go of this relic of my past I can't help but remember my career at this least prestigious of connections to the gaming industry.

Friday, September 19, 2014

A friend of mine pointed out that this movie was on Netflix, otherwise I never would have registered it in my Netflix browsing. It simply looks like some random romantic comedy and, though I don't have anything against romantic comedies, I also don't go out of my way to watch them. Unless they're classics I know I enjoy, like Clueless or Legally Blonde, and shut up I like those movies.

Grosse Pointe Blank is definitely that: a romantic comedy, with a bit of a twist. Which is about as much as of a short review as I can manage: it's a romantic comedy. Do you like romantic comedies? If so, you might like this one. If not, it's not going to change your mind about the genre. It's not the best romantic comedy by a long shot, but it has some quirks that make it stand out as a bit higher than average.

Thursday, September 18, 2014

I picked up a copy of Miracle Mask knowing only that I would be away from home for a while and that I liked the rest of the series. Layton games have a way of sucking me in and keeping me there until I'm done, which doesn't really seem like the best option for a game to bring with me on vacation, but there you go.

That was back in June, and I just finished the game a few weeks ago, at the end of August, over two months later. Which kind of begs the question: what happened?

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Alcoholic beverages have been consumed by humans since before recorded history. In modern times these beverages come in a variety of forms to suit people's various preferences for taste, texture, and potency. For some people it's an occasional, recreational drink, for others it's a full-blown addiction, and people may fall anywhere in between.

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

A while back I started watching this anime I saw on Netflix. I think I was just coming off of Bob's Burgers, and I needed something new to watch with my meals. I didn't know if I was going to keep watching after the first few episodes, but here I am, having just watched all five seasons on Netflix, eager to talk about what I've just watched.

Monday, September 15, 2014

Recently I started playing Fire Emblem: Awakening again, partially because I love turn-based strategy games, but mostly because while I was at PAX I finished Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask, leaving me with no other games to play other than the ones I have downloaded to my DS. Out of those two games (Mario Picross and Fire Emblem), I chose the one that other people in the room were playing.

Shortly after beginning, though, I remembered that Fire Emblem wasn't just a strategy game. In fact, strategy played a rather small part in it the first time I played the game. No, the primary focus of the game is to figure out who's going to marry whom, making you basically a glorified matchmaker. So, this blog post will detail my decision making process. If you're familiar with Awakening, you'll understand. If not, I doubt this will be an interesting journey for you, and I apologize.

Saturday, September 13, 2014

My Lord, as we begin the journey back to the Nexus I finally have a moment to sit down and compose my thoughts regarding this realm. To begin, suffice to say that this realm is quite unlike what we imagined.Armed with the knowledge I have gained here, though, I believe that next time we will be prepared.

Armed with the knowledge that the door to the Citadel has been unlocked, the party escapes from the labyrinth. Jeff remarked out of character that he'd had enough of dungeons and was ready for some dragons.

However, nobody is every really ready for dragons. This became abundantly clear as the party exited the cave and found a massive dragon terrorizing the people waiting at the gate of the Citadel.

Friday, September 12, 2014

There's a craze sweeping America. It began a few years ago, infecting just a handful of people. Now its followers are numbering in the thousands, growing exponentially each year.

I am, of course, referring to the people using the Hobonichi Techo, a daily planner brought to us from Japan, whose popularity is due in no small part to my former roommate Lindsay. I've been using them for nearly two years now, and I've already placed an order for next year's planner. Today I'm going to talk about why I've grown attached to this craze, and why you might want to as well.

With the main event (the art show) complete, the rest of PAX settled into something almost relaxing. Still, there are a few notes I should mention before closing the book on PAX for the year. First, though, I'm going to relate the Legend of the Sandwich.

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

A while back I heard an argument against the classic St. Augustine maxim "love the sinner, hate the sin." I've been mulling over that criticism for months now, and I think I'd like to lay out my thoughts so far.

At the end of the first day of PAX I spent a lot of time in my hotel room resting and recovering. This was less because the first day had been exhausting and more because I knew that the second day was destined to be far more tiring, as there was far more to do.

Monday, September 8, 2014

After spending the better part of two weeks away from home, I'm once again being reminded of why I like Tucson in the first place. On any trip it's common to start longing for home, but I do believe I appreciate Tucson itself. I've jokingly referred to this as Stockholm Syndrome, but I think that access to self-deprecating humor is part of the charm.

I was too tired during PAX to actually sit and write any blog posts. Since I didn't recount the events when they were fresh I just spent five whole minutes trying to remember any notable memories from each day. You're welcome.

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Today I woke up to being tagged to participate in a Facebook exercise. The rules were thus:

Without thinking, list 15 movies that influenced you.

I chose to interpret that as meaning I should rattle off the first 15 movies that came to mind that I believe influenced who I am today. So, after 15 minutes of racking my brain I came up with the following list: